Improvement in water-rams



WMM

. N. PETERS. PHDTO-UTMDGRAPNER. WASHINGTON. Dv CA alrnt (alpina KTMBALL W. STETSON, 0F KINGSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

Letters Patent No. 100,084, dated February 22, 1.870; antedatcd February 18, 1'870.

IMPRQVEMENT IN WATER-RAMs.

The Schedule referred Yco in these Letters Patent and making part 0f the same.

To all whom 'it may concern:

Be it known that I, KIMBALL W. 'Srnrsole of Kingston, in the county 'of Plymouth, and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Means for Raising and Forcing Liquids; and I hereby declare the following to be a .full and exact description thereof, reference being had to the accompanyingl drawings which form a part of this specificatiomin which- Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section;

Figure 2 is a cross-section on the line T Tin fig. l; vFigure 3 is a horizontal section on the line S S inv FigurefiA is a perspective view of the diaphragm detached on a larger scale; and

Figure 5 is a central vertical section ofthe same.

Similar' letters of reference indicate like parts in all the figures.

My invention relates to raising and forcing water and other liquids by hydraulic or other pressure, and is particularly adapted for use as applied to a. hydraulic ram, in which position itis described in this specification.. r

The invention consists in the combination of a rigid part with a ring' or casing under the edges, which yields by its elasticity, and allowsl the rigid part to move as the pressure-011 its faces varies, so as to contract or enlarge the duid-chambers or spaces on the 'opposite sides of the compound diaphragm so formed;

also, in a certain arrangement of valves, in connection with such compound diaphragm, to control the action of a fluid' admitted to one of its sides; also, in the use ofrings, or spiral support-s in combination with the above, so arranged as to sustainl the elastic case without interfering with its action; and, lastly, in the double-chambered hydraulic ram, composedY of a suitable diaphragm dividing the fluid cavity, and Ihaving valves for cont-rolling the ingress and egress of fluids through connections on one side, and with the ramvalve and drivingpipe on the other side; as more fully set forth below.

To enable others skilled in the art to .make and use my invention, l will proceed to describe it by the aid of the drawings andthe letters of reference marked thereon,

.A is the air-chamber; l

B is the driving-pipe; and

O is the choke or stop-valve, which alternately stops and releases the water in the driving-pipe, as is familiar. These parts may be constructed in the same form and operate in the same manner as in any of the varieties of hydraulic rains.

D is a casting ofiron,'and composes the body of the ram.. It is attached to the driving-pipe B and'valve O by means of screws in the ordinary manner.:

E is another casting of iron, fitting down upon the casting D, and supporting the air-chamber A. These l made tight by'thin sheets of leather, rubber, lead, or

other soft material placed between them. I

The casting E has two recesses or chambers, F and G, formed in its lower surface.

These chambers connect together within the casting through the passage F', and Ialso connect with the iuterior of the air-chamber A through the passage G', which is covered by the self-acting valve a..

A passage, D, in the casting D, communicates at one end with the pipe B', which is connected with fa suitable reservoir for supplying pure water or other liquid desired to be raised.

vhe other end of this passage D2 opens into the recess cr chamber F, within the'casting E, and is covered by the self-acting valve b.

The recess G is tted to receive the annular rubber spring H, the upper face of which rests against a snitable shoulder, g, formed in the casting E, as represented, while the lower face presses upon the circular plate H', which rests upon the casting D, and covers a hole therein openinginto the passage Dl, connecting` the interior of the driving-pipe B with the valve O, as represented.

The annular rubber 'spring H and plate H. placed together,`as represented, form an elastic and Very du -rable diaphragm which is of great importance. I will now describe them Imore in detail.

The annular rubber should be formed of the most elastic and durable vulcanizedz rubber to be procured,

and of a little -less diameter than the hole in which it is placed. Its depth axially should be slightly greater than the depth of the hole between the shoulder' g and plate H', so as to press against the shoulder 'g and plate H sufficiently hard to form a tight joint in both places. The rubber may be cemented to the shoulder g and to the plate H', to insure that the joints shall be tight if desired.

The thickness of the-rubber radially should be govyerned by the size of the plate H', and also the depthV cally. They are formed ofthe salue outward diameter as the interior of the rubber, and are held in place within the rubber by cement, or they may be made slightly larger than the interior of the rubber, in'whch case the ruboerfwill cling to them without the cement.

The-rings t' may be made of metal, wood, whalebone, rattan, or any material which will keep its shape so as to prevent the rubber from being forced inward, and may be of square, round, or flat section, but I prefer to make them of round brass wire, soldered together in the circular form.

In pla'ce of the several separate rings c', one continuons wire may be bent spirally around and placed within the annular rubber. Such spiral wire will brace the rubber, and keep it properly distended, and at the same time allow it to expand and contract axially to any necessary extent.

In operating m`y invention, pure water or other liquid to be raised or forced is supposed to till the spaces G G' F F in the casting E. Other water which may be dirty, warm, or otherwise unfit for use or for mingling with the liquid to bc raised, but which has a vsuiicient head, is then passed through the drivingpipe B, passage DI, and past the valve C in the usual manner.

At each closing of the valve C, the sudden press- `ure in the passage l)1 (caused by the inertia of the water in the driving-pipe) against the plate H' forces it upward by compressing the rubber H, and thereby reduces the space within 4the cavity G above it, and forces alquant-ity of the water contained within the recess G through the passage G', and past vthe valve a, into the air-chamber A.

So soon as the momentum of the water. in the driving-pipe is overcome, the usual reaction takes place, which relieves the pressurewithin the passage D, and allows the valvelO to open by its own weight, in the ordinary manner, when the water in the pipe B again iiows forward to escape past the valve C. lhis reduction of pressure allows the expansive force of the rubber H to urge down the plate H', and enlarge that portion of the spaceG, which is contained within the rubber.

lhis enlarged space is thereupon lled by water drawn in past thevalve b from `the pipe B and the connected reservoir.

When the valve C again closes, more water is again forced past the valve a int-o the air-chamber A, when the rubber, again expanding, fills the space above the diaphragm, as before described.

'lhis operation of filling the space above the yielding part or diaphragm H H with freshwater drawn past the valve b by the expansive or downward tendency of the diaphragm, and of emptying past the valve a by the pressure caused by the sudden stoppage ot' the water within the driving-pipe B, is repeated indenitely, thereby drawing water from the reservoir to which the pipe B is attached, and discharging it into the air-chamber A, from whence it is conveyed away through the passage A1 and pipe A2 to the desired point. i i

1t is obvious that as much water will not be forced into the airchamber A `as if there were no diaphragm intervening, for the .reason that a part of the power of the water is expended in forcing up the -diaphragm.v y

It is also obviousthat the force exerted to press the diaphragm upv may again be utilized (or a great part of it) in sucking the water from a lower elevation, so that in reality nearly the whole power of the water, or so much thereof as in ordinary rams, may be utilized in the two operations of drawing and forcing the liquid.

When the water is required to be drawn from a considerable depth, the rubber H may not expand sucently to bring the plate H entirely down upon the casting D, as is the case when it is raised only a little distance; but the rubber will always expand far enough to reduce. its expansive force to a degree about equal to the resistance of the water contained in the pipe B', acting upon the area of the plate H', thereby insuring that the expansive power of the rubber will be but slightly, it' any, in excess of the pressure due to the height from which the' water has been already drawn. v s

A simple sheet ofelastic rubber stretched across the recess G, between the parts D and E, may oper- .ate successfully-for a time as diaphragm, but the continual combined stretching and bending. action will destroy its utility in a short time.

A sheet of leather, rubber, or other exible material which will not allow the fluids to pass through it, may be placed, as above, between the parts D and E, and may be strengthened by the addition ot a disk or plate near the center, upon which ametal or other spring may press, to form, or assist to form its elastic power; or a diaphragm may be made in the form of a hollow tube, of elastic rubber, attached firmly at one ,end to a plate, and the other secured to the lower part of the recess G, and allowing the plate to stretch the rubber instead of compressing it; but all such forms in which the material is forced to expand or stretch beyond its natural size I do not considerso desirable as the form represented.

I propose to use the rings or supports i ou either the interior or exterior of the annular rubber-in some cases 'on one` side, and in some cases on the other, but always opposite to that upon whiehthe pressure is greatest.

I .also steady the rings t, to insure' that the rubber H shall not swing or move laterally in any direction, by a rigid cylinder' or other rigid guides placed upon the plate H', or attached to the casting E.

Such guides are shown iu red lines in iig. 5. That shown on t-he right of the figure is attached to the plate alone, and, when used, the casting E above the Yshoulder g, must be recessed, so as to allow the guide to .rise with the plate.

, The guides shown on the left of the figure are ati tached both to the plate H and to the casting E, and

slide one within the other like a telescope.

I have repre-sented my diaphragm in a circular form, but any other form may be used with success in' which the strip of rubber H and shoulder g conform to the plate H', so as to leave a portion of the chamber G inclosed within the rubber.

It is evident that any means which will alternately compress or force upward the diaphragm H H', andV in turn alternately release the same, may he made as eifective in sucking and forcing up the liquid as the pressure produced by the sudden stoppage of a current of water, as is the case in the operation of a hydraulic ram;

Having now fully described my invention,

What I claim as new therein, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is as follows: e

1. .lhe elastic ring or casing, of rubber or. analogous yielding material, H, in combination with the rigid covering part Hf, and adapted to form therewith a movable side or diaphragm for the Huid-cavity G by the direct compression or expansion of the yielding material, substantially as and for the purposes herein set forth.

2. The valves a and b, arranged to operate in combination with the diaphragm H H', substantially in the manner and for the purpose herein setforth.

3. rlhe rings i, in combination with `the diaphragm H H', so as to brace and support the elastic material, substantially in the manner set forth.

4. The double-chambered hydraulic ram above described, having the valves a b communicating with the chamber' G, and having the valve C anddrivingpipe` communicating with the chamber br passage 1)', and having a suitable diaphragm or yielding partiti-on to separate the chamber G and passage D', and. arranged for joint operation subs'tantiallyas and for the purposes herein set forth.

Witnesses: KIMBALL W; STETSON i S. Hosnoan,

ltUFUs BLAKE. 

